It’s federal election season and all the national parties are campaigning for votes. While the economy is surfacing as the number one issue, it has been encouraging to hear discussion about infrastructure and the need to invest federal funds. I even heard some leaders say the words "water" and "wastewater." I’ll stay non-partisan here and just appreciate that they are all talking about the need to invest in Canadian infrastructure and the impact that would have on job creation and the economy. Some are offering to invest more than others and one is willing to run a deficit to ensure we make that investment.

CWWA is proud to announce that Sarah Mitchell is this year’s winner of the annual Steve Bonk Scholarship. Sarah is currently in her second year at McGill University pursuing a degree in Bioresource Engineering, where she hopes to specialize in the Soil and Water stream. She is incredibly passionate about the environment and is a member of multiple clubs including being the Environment Commissioner at the Student's Society of McGill University. Sarah hopes to use her skills to one day work in the water and wastewater industry.

Ontario Bill 73, Smart Growth for Our Communities Act, 2015, which was tabled March 5, 2015, by Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, was further debated this summer following 2nd reading. The Bill amends the Development Charges Act, 1997 and the Planning Act.

Much of the detail related to implementation of BC’s new Water Sustainability Act will be provided in regulations and operation policies. Due to the complexity of the new act and the number of proposed regulations, government is taking a phased approach to implementation. As reported in last month’s issue of CERCN, four papers describing proposed new policies have been released and relate to core water management activities.

Nova Scotia’s Department of Environment has released Guide to Surface Water Withdrawal Approvals July 2015. Under the provincial Environment Act, the Activities Designation Regulations (Division 1) requires parties to obtain a water withdrawal approval if a surface water withdrawal exceeds 23,000 litres per day for a period of more than two weeks.

As part of the Standards Council of Canada’s (SCC’s) ongoing work, we are seeking your assistance in identifying innovative Canadian technologies and management practices that could be advanced internationally as a New Work Item project leading to the development of a new international standard (ISO/IEC).

When disaster strikes, water, the most basic resource crucial for our survival, may become compromised. To help water utilities be prepared and continue to operate in any event, ISO has just published ISO 24518. The new standard lists the steps utilities have to take in order to be ready for any crisis situation. ISO 24518 also looks at what to do during an emergency, and how to re-establish services and learn from the situation.

Smart Utility Systems (SUS) is the leading provider of cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions for Customer Engagement, Workforce Mobility, and Big Data Intelligence and Analytics to the Energy and Utility sector. We believe that Utility business model will continue to evolve with the focus on Customer Engagement and Operational Efficiency through Mobile and Analytics technologies.

The water quality manager of the public utility in Milwaukee, where a deadly Cryptosporidium outbreak sickened more than 400,000 people in 1993, will share lessons the utility learned during next month’s Water System Optimization Conference in Hershey, Pa.

Water onlineTwo California cities dramatically reduced the occurrence of sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) through enhanced technology and business process improvement. The effort included evaluating operations to establish a performance baseline, implementing multiple best business practices/strategies, and using technology to manage the data.

Water OnlineI’ve worked with small utilities across the U.S. for some time, and I can tell you they are struggling. They are facing a sustainability crisis so serious, because of so many challenges and lack of resources, that many believe they will be unable to continue in the future.

Water Online"A northwestern Ontario First Nation declared a state of emergency, saying its drinking water contains potentially dangerous chemicals," The National Post reported. "The Grassy Narrows First Nation says it has been under a boil-water advisory for more than a year, but even boiling won’t remove the chemicals."

Water OnlineA few letters after your name can make all the difference in your career — just ask any RN, CPA, or PE. They prove your ability, expertise, and work ethic. Such certification functions well for countless trades, so why not for water and wastewater operators?

Water CanadaThe City of Thunder Bay has announced the beginning of a Corrosion Control Pilot Study in the Hodder Pressure Zone starting in December 2015. This will involve adjusting the water chemistry of treated water in order to measure the effectiveness of reducing lead levels at the tap. The Current River area was chosen for the study because it is the lowest pressure zone, and is therefore easy to isolate, according to Erin Marcella-Fui, municipal planning and research analyst.

CBCThe N.W.T. government has approved a change that will allow the level of total dissolved solids (TDS), including mineral salts, in Snap Lake to be almost triple what was allowed only five months ago.

Montreal GazetteMontreal homeowners will no longer have to shoulder the cost of repairing sections of water or sewage pipes that reside on city property, erasing a bylaw that has cost multiple owners tens of thousands of dollars.

MondaqWater is essential to life. Up until very recently, however, Canadians have taken their water resources for granted. With the bounty of the Great Lakes and several large river systems, water protection and conservation took a back seat to more immediate environmental concerns.

New provincial regulations may change all this. From BC's Water Sustainability Act scheduled to come into force in 2016 to PEI's announcement of plans to develop a comprehensive water act, water is becoming increasingly regulated.

CBCSince 2004, Winnipeg's antiquated combined sewer system has dumped at least 185 million litres of untreated raw sewage into the city's waterways, and it could cost the city up to $4 billion to fix the problem.

Globe and MailA significant public infrastructure initiative would result in a substantial short-term boost to the economy, along with longer-term benefits for Canadians through a rise in gross domestic product, a new report by the Centre for Spatial Economics shows.

The Chronicle-Journal The City of Thunder Bay has launched a $50-million claim against a large number of businesses, individuals and organizations, including Lakehead University, for not disconnecting rainwater downspouts from the sanitary system prior to the May 2012 flooding disaster.

CBCDeep underneath the Fraser River hides an engineering marvel — the biggest water infrastructure project ever attempted in Metro Vancouver — and it's almost ready.The tunnel, 3.5 metres across and one kilometre long, runs under the river between Surrey and Coquitlam, and will soon transport drinking water to Surrey and other communities south of the Fraser.

They are water operators, treatment plant superintendents, consultants and engineers. Some wear ties to work, read standards manuals, and sit behind desks. But on their weeks off, these AWWA members pull on their leathers, jump on their hogs and hit the road to raise money for Water for People, the nonprofit that improves drinking water and sanitation in developing countries